In Your Share (Aug 7th edition)

The Japanese Eggplant were happy in the heat wave! The plants had lots of lovely lavender flowers a few weeks ago and it appears that almost all of them have been pollinated and grown to maturity. There is something so exotic and beautiful about the shiny dark black purple eggplant. Some of the fruit have cosmetic damage which we think is from the cucumber beetle. These look like yellow ladybugs but they are a terrible plant pest. Both the spotted and striped beetles have been working their way north for the last few years. They nibble on the surface of the young cucumbers and eggplant which creates a superficial scar. The good news is that this is easily peeled off and the rest of the fruit is fine to eat.  The Japanese eggplant are especially easy to grill – just cut in half, brush with olive oil and cook until soft. If you roast some extra eggplant ahead of time you can use it in this Spanish salad – Eggplant in the Moorish Style.

Amazing recipes for Eggplant and everything else in your share are available to members at Cook With What You Have. If you joined our Summer CSA you will find your password in the member email. Enjoy 24/7 access to recipe inspiration!

This week your share may include…

  • Basil: Lovely bunches of green and purple basil!
  • Cucumbers: We’ll have extra Cukes and Cabbage available for sale in bulk this week! If you want to do some preserving, just let me know. Here is one of my favorite quick pickles – this is my Mom’s recipe for Sweet Refrigerator Pickles.
  • Eggplant: Beautiful Japanese eggplant with a few pink and Italian mixed in.
  • Fava Beans: We always like to have some kind of legume in the share whenever possible. The season usually starts early with sugar snap peas, then transitions to fava beans, then we’ll have green (and purple and yellow and romano) beans later in August and possibly into September. Finally in winter we have a variety of different dried beans. Of all the legumes, fava beans are often the least familiar. It can be alot of work to double shell them in the traditional Italian fashion, but it is so worth it! If you’re pressed for time then chose smaller beans from the bin today and try them on the BBQ or under the broiler using this recipe for Ignacio Matta’s Grilled Fava’s.
  • Sweet Onions: Walla Walla Sweet onions are great in salads or on the grill!
  • Potatoes: New potatoes have thin skins and are tender & tasty. Try them boiled or roasted or make potato salad with the sweet onions.
  • Summerfest Greens: These mild mustard greens are very versatile – tear them raw into salad or chop & quickly sauté them.
  • Summer Squash: Assorted shapes, sizes and colors and they’re all tasty. Grill slabs of zucchini or patty pan on the BBQ or slice them into a gratin or use a big one for Zucchini Bread.

Coming soon… Hot Peppers!